Kappa: The Preface
by panda8785
Summary: The before story to Erin and Kappa. You may have read this in Short Stories and Writers Block, but it's become long enough in length to get it's own little story. I hope you enjoy and please Read and Review. Rated T for normal RvB stuff
1. Chapter 1

A** word of advise, please, please read Erin and Kappa, because this is just something to explain the Kappa AI's past. I think this may be one of my longest short stories I have ever written, so please bare with me.**

* * *

"Please don't cry for me." The small child rest on a hospital bed, raising her arm slowly to catch her mother's tears, "I'm not completely gone as long as I'm remembered, right? Don't worry. I won't say goodbye. I know how you hate those," She watched as both of her parent remained silent and her younger, red headed sister sat on the floor, not yet understanding death, "but I will tell you that I'll see you some day again." She started humming the tune of Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift as he mother broke down into tears, for she was unable to hold them back. The child stroked the strawberry blonde hair of her mother, knowing she wouldn't get to see the beautiful strands she admired. Slowly, she began to slip away, but she died with a smile, despite her own tear stained face.

* * *

"State your name." A deep voice came out from the darkness.

The girl had opened her eyes and examined her transparent state. She moved her fingers through her hair, but the sensation of touch hadn't come into contact with her, "Um..." She thought for a brief moment, "I am the Kappa AI. I was made for the purpose of Project Freelancer."

"Incorrect." The man in front of her spoke.

"I must apologize for responding so wrongly. I am confused. May you please tell me who I am?"

"Your name is Rebekah Church. You're the daughter of the Director." Another man spoke up.

"What is my relation to Allison?" The girl asked as the name kept reverberating through her figurative brain.

"We do not say that name around here." The first man barked.

"What the Director is trying to say is that the name you have said is too sensitive to be mentioned." The second man said in a more calming tone.

"I must apologize." The girl ducked her head and a white light went off out of the corner of her eye. She turned around to see what looked like the body of a girl in a glass cylinder.

"We have prepared a vessel for you, if ever you want to walk around in public." The Director spoke once again.

"Would I be allowed to use it in private?" She asked, for the want to enhance her five senses, that seemed now unfamiliar, took over.

"If that is what you wish." The girl approached this vessel of hers. She examined the short, brown hair, then the emerald green eyes, then the clothes, which was a dark purple tank top with dark grey shorts, a yellow belt, and slightly lighter grey sneakers with yellow trim.

* * *

The girl had awoken from her dream simulator, for she could not dream for herself. She decided to roam the halls of the Mother of Invention, ignoring the rules she was told otherwise. What the Director knows won't hurt him. And it's not like most, or any in that matter, of the Freelancers know she's on board. Maybe that's not as good as she made it out to be.

"Hey, you!" Someone, presumably a guard or whatever of the like is on the ship, yelled after Rebekah.

"Whoops." She giggled and started to run away. The man followed.

"Stop right there!" He yelled, "The Director just wants to see you."

She continued running, but turned her head to face her chaser, "Screw the Director!" She continued to laugh until a loud _Clank_ prevented her from continuation of movement, "U-uh." She looked up to face a man in green armor who held his helmet at his side, "S-sorry." She got the idea to use the freelancer as a shield from the guard, "P-please save me." She continued her child-like act.

"Can you please hand over the girl." The guard huffed, trying to catch his breath.

"I don't wanna go with you." She whined.

"May I ask what a child is doing on the Mother of Invention?" The man in green asked in a soft tone. He seemed as if he were in his mid to late twenties.

"That information is classified." The guard regained his composure, "The Director just wishes to see her."

The man turned to look at the child, then the guard, "She obviously doesn't want to go. She's still a child, if your plan is to bring her onto the battlefield."

"She is the Director's daughter. That's all that you need to know. Now, please hand her over."

"Oh really?" He faced the child again and took a step back, "Sorry kid."

"Thank you, Agent Oregon." The guard grabbed the small girl's hand and started to drag her down the hall, "Oh," he turned around, tightening his grip around the girl's wrist, "and I've overheard the Director talking about you being first for AI implantations, but you didn't hear it from me."

"Thanks." Oregon waved.

* * *

"Agent Oregon is ready for implantation." A male voice spoke and Agent Oregon was spun 180 degrees, due to lack of gravity. He braced himself for what was coming. A drilling pain went through his neural pathway. He winced in pain, but refused to make a sound. He did as he was told, before entering the room. Relax, breath slowly, and just let any new sensations pass through. Of course, he was the first to have his AI implanted into him so no one in Project Freelance could actually give him tips of how to cope.

"W-where am I?" A faint voice of a female child echoed through his head, but it wasn't his own, "W-why is it so dark?" Was she confused? Was she not told about this implantation? Oregon's vision started growing black as the back of his neck began to throb. He struggled to keep consciousness and to figure out more about this childish voice.

* * *

"He's wakening up." A blurry voice spoke up. Oregon shot up to an upright position, but kept his head toward his chest.

"Easy there." Another man spoke, "You don't want to hurt yourself."

Oregon opened his eyes and looked at the men in front of him, "Wah? North? York? W-what are you doing here?" Suddenly, a jolt of pain breached his neck and he rushed his hand to help the pain. He moved his fingers around a square, metal patch that used to not be there. He remembered what happened the last time he had consciousness.

"You've been unconscious for about a day." North spoke in his usual, calming tone, "How's the AI doing?"

"I'm scared." The childish voice went off again.

"W-who said that?" Oregon was alarmed.

"What do you mean?" York was concerned.

"There was the voice of a kid." The man mumbled.

"There's no kid in here." The tan soldier faced the man in purple.

"Maybe it's the AI." North replied.

"Where am I?" The voice whimpered and a greenish-blue, transparent figure of a small girl appeared by Oregon's head. Her eyes remained closed as her small hands gripped the rim of her long, frilly dress.

"I'm guessing that's it." York's voice showed excitement.

"Wah?" The girl opened her eyes and looked up at the man, who was probably 100 times her size... actually not quite. More like 73.5729, according to Kappa's calculations, "Eek!" She yelped and hid behind Oregon's head.

"Uh?" York backed away, "Sorry?"

"Well, Kappa, right?" Oregon moved out of the way of the holographic projection, "York and North here aren't going to hurt you. They're our friends."

"I-I've never... had any friends." The little wisp whimpered as she slowly continued to hide behind her host's head.

"Well, we're here for you." North smiled.

The child hovered slightly to the side and faced the purple spartan, "R-really?"

"Yeah." York piped, "And once we all get our own AI, you'll have even more to talk to."

"Promise?" Her eyes lit up.

"You see?" Oregon laughed, "We're all friends here."

* * *

"What is this?" York held up a CD case that had been handed to him by Oregon.

"Nightmare before Christmas." Oregon sighed, placing a hand on his hip.

"I know that." He huffed, "Why do you want to watch this? It's halloween, man! We always watch horror movies!"

"If you remember, York," North intervened, "Oregon's AI is practically a child. We should be considerate."

"Oregon has an AI?" Agent Florida asked, all cheery, "Does that mean the process is a go?"

"I think they're just testing on me to make sure it works properly." Oregon brought his arm parallel to his torso, "I don't think it's quite a go yet. I only got her a few days ago."

"Can I see it?" The blue soldier pleaded, "Please?"

"I don't know." The man in green turned his head to the right, "She gets a little shy..." He turned his head again to face the couch, where almost everyone else had been seating, "And no offense, but I think Maine might scare her."

"None taken." The white soldier huffed, keeping his words short.

"Really?" Wash laughed, "I'm sure she'd like to be a bit more social."

"She says that the idea of humans being able to die haunts her a bit," Oregon laughed awkwardly, "but you may be right... Kappa?"

"You called?" She appeared, hiding behind his head.

"How adorable." Florida gushed.

"I'm not adorable." The child pouted and grew red, "I could have you killed in an instant." The room went silent.

"I swear this has never happened before." Oregon poked the child as she reverted to her original form.

"My apologies." She ducked her head and brought her hands to her mouth.

"How old is she?" Florida let a faint smile come across his lips.

"Three years older than Agent Carolina," The little AI started talking, "and twenty five years younger than the Director... Wait a minute, how did I know that?"

"How did you know that?" Oregon joked with his AI partner.

"Do not patronize me, Agent Oregon." She sat down in a criss cross fashion.

"Can we please just watch a movie?" Wash smiled meekly.

* * *

"Oregon?" York had approached his colleague.

"Yeah, York?" The green soldier faced his friend.

"Could you probably explain how to cope with an AI?"

"Oh? Are you getting an implant soon?"

"Actually, I already got one." A green figure appeared next to York's head, "Um... This is Delta. Delta, this is Oregon."

"Hello, Agent Oregon." Delta replied in an almost monotonic tone.

"Hello." Oregon waved his hand at the holographic projection, "And as to the matter of coping, York, I had a few headaches in the beginning. The main problem is getting used to having another voice in your head."

"Yeah, it's a bit of a problem." York laughed a little, "Just seems a little strange."

"Actually, I still have these dreams from mine."

"What kind of dreams?"

"Well," He sighed, trying to remember, "they're mostly in third person of a girl, a man, and a woman. The girl is still a child, but she's lying on a hospital bed. The woman is kneeling next to her, holding the kid's hand, and the man is standing next to the woman, trying to comfort her. I could only see the child's face as she ends up dying. The woman's voice indicates devastation, and I feel a sudden want to help, but my transparent body can't help her."

"Sounds like some fucked up dream." The soldier laughed, "How often have you been having those?"

"Ever since I got the AI."

"Wow. And you still have those?" He watched his friend nod, "It's been about a month since you got the implant, though."

"Perhaps it is because you have a smart AI instead of a fragment." Delta spoke up.

"Pardon?" Oregon was surprised that there was a concept he was unfamiliar with.

"A smart AI is a complete AI, where as a fragment is different." The hologram explained

"Well, Delta, how is a fragment different?"

"I am not quite sure myself."

"Alpha is a smart AI, too." The Kappa AI made her appearance, "H-hi, Delta. It's a pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand.

"Protocol states that AIs are not allowed to interact directly with each other." Delta said, deadpanned.

"Protocol only applies with fragments and the Alpha AI... Also conversations between me and the Alpha are prohibited." She kept her hand extended, "Mostly so that, when more fragments such as yourself are created, they... I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to talk about that file."

"I see." Delta disappeared.

"..."

"Hey, Kappa, you alright?" Oregon asked his little AI partner.

"Mr. York, does Delta not like me?" The girl looked up to face the adult in front of her.

"I'm sure the relationship between the two of you isn't that bad." York laughed.

"Yeah." The green armored soldier chuckled, "C'mon. Let's watch a movie and cheer you up."

"O-okay." She whimpered and destroyed her visible state.

* * *

"Now seems like the perfect time for a lunch break." Oregon laughed as he bit into a ham and cheese sandwich.

"So, how's training been going?" York asked everyone around the table.

"Going good." Wash winced.

"Wash here somehow managed to get a grappling hook stuck in his crotch while training in hand to hand combat." The green soldier continued to laugh.

"S-shut up about that!" The grey soldier felt his face go red from embarrassment.

"How does that even happen?" North stifled a laugh, trying to spare Wash's feelings.

"It ricocheted off the wall." The Kappa AI appeared, still hiding behind her host's head, but seemed a bit more used to the men.

"The real question should be how you're still standing." York couldn't hold back his own laughter.

"The doctors here are really good." Oregon swallowed his food, "They filled him up with pain relievers and he's up and crawling."

"Isn't the phrase, 'up and running?'" The Kappa AI questioned her human partner.

"Not in his case." He laughed once again.

"It still hurts to move," Wash spoke up, "but at least I can."

"... North?" The little AI asked the man in purple armor.

"Yes?" The adult responded.

"May I please speak to Theta?" She pleaded.

Oregon choked on a morsel of food, "North? Did you get your implant?"

"Yeah, Agent Oregon." Kappa cheered, "Agent Maine got an implant too... although," She ducked her head down, "I don't really like Sigma. He scares me, but he seems to be the only fragment that ever wants to talk to me."

"How could you not like Sigma?" North questioned the child-like AI, "Don't you guys refer to each other as brothers and sisters?"

"I share no familial bonds with Sigma, Theta, Delta, and any other of the fragments to come." She continued to keep her gaze to the floor, "M-may I please speak to Theta?" She repeated her original question.

"Sorry, kid, but AI's aren't to directly talk to each other. We had an issue the last time Delta and Theta spoke."

"But protocol only applies to the fragmented AIs." She pouted, keeping up her childish act, until something appeared in her head due to the neural link between her and Oregon, "Agent Oregon! Please stop! That's gross!" She held her head with her hands and ground her wrists into her temples, hoping it would ease the trauma.

"W-wah?! Get the fuck out of my head if you don't want to hear my thoughts!" The green soldier argued, drawing attention.

"What are ya thinking about there, Oregon?" York held a wry grin across his face.

"N-n-nothing!" He defended, fairly poorly.

"Kappa?" York decided to attack him another way, "What was Oregon thinking of?"

"I will not rat out a colleague of mine." She held a confident position.

"Override."

She forced herself to fight the command, but she couldn't help it. She was under duress, "Agent Washington." She grit through her teeth.

"What the fuck?!" Oregon and Wash had said in utter synchronization.

"S-sorry. I'll be on my merry way now." She started to dissipate.

"Next time, I'm thinking about digging your grave!" Oregon yelled in frustration.

"Try me! The kid I'm based off of is already dead from worse than you could think of!" She yelled back, almost teary eyed, and vanished in a small flash of baby blue light.

"Dude, not cool." Wash laughed, as if nothing had changed.

* * *

"I would like to get rid of my Artificial Intelligence." Oregon approached the Director.

"And why is that?" The older man looked down at the soldier.

"She has been more trouble than she's worth, and I don't feel safe around her. If anything, I'm endangered. What I'm afraid of is ending up like Wash. His AI is causing him to spout nonsense and I fear that it's just a matter of time before I end up a similar fate."

"And this is your final decision?" The Director asked the younger man, as if expecting him to reconsider.

The green soldier listened for the faintest evidence that the little AI was awake. If she knew what was going on, she'd probably throw a little fit in the back of his head, "Yes. I do not wish to reconsider."

"Very well." Oregon was then sent into surgery almost immediately.

"Wah?" The little AI had woken up as Oregon was being spun around to lie on his stomach, revealing the chip that rest on the back of his neck, "Good morning." The girl laughed, completely oblivious of the situation. Then, the wiring noise of the tools went off, "Wait a minute... what's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Kappa." The man muttered under his breath.

"I should've known." She giggled to mask the sadness in her voice, "All you Shisnos are the same."

"I'm sorry." He repeated. His tone was not as apologetic as the first time.

"Just don't say goodbye. I'm too scared to take on another goodbye." Her hands shook, but she was unable to tell. It seemed more like they were fading.

"Then, I'll just see you next time."

"That's what the girl I was based on told her mother, and now they're both dead." Those were her last words to the man before she was ripped out of his neural channel. It took him quite a while to process the information, but he cried with every second of thought he put into it. It was only mere seconds of silence later when Agent Washington's screams could be heard.

* * *

"Heh?" The Kappa AI smiled as she jumped around in the body she had before she was transplanted into Oregon, "Epsilon committed suicide? That's very, hehehee, unfortunate."

"There's no need to try to mask the pain in laughter, Rebekah." The Counselor spoke down to her. She had forgotten what it was like to not be called 'Kappa.' The name 'Rebekah' had now felt foreign to her.

"My apologies, Counselor." She muttered in an audible tone, "I will try to cope with my emotions in some other way." Her gaze drifted off to the doorway out of the room, "May I please roam the halls, or would you like for me to head straight for my quarters?"

"Are you not afraid of being noticed by anyone?" He spoke in a strange manner than his usual calming tone.

"I do not care anymore." She sighed, turning towards the door, "May I?"

"Go right ahead."

She indeed walked through the halls. At least those that Oregon would wander through on a regular basis. The familiar scenery kept bringing a light throb to her head as she walked down there in her purple tank top and dark grey shorts.

"It has been a while since I last had a physical body, huh?" The little girl sighed, "It just takes some getting used to." She raised her hand and placed it lightly on the wall. She wasn't able to feel the textures of the wall herself, but Oregon had done similar often enough that it almost became a habit. The wall appeared smooth, but she'd accidentally run her fingers over a few flaws and split open the silicon layer of her vessel. _Clank!_ The sound of crashing into metal reached her ear as she turned her head to face a wall of armor.

"This is going to be a running thing for you, isn't it?" The man in front of her laughed. It was Agent Oregon, "It's been, what, about a year since I last saw you. How have you been?"

"Y-you don't recognize me?" She felt tears well up in her eyes, but fought them off.

"I just said that I did." He laughed, "I tried to protect you from that guard guy."

"..." She slowly turned her head to face the wall once again, "That's not what I meant." Suddenly, it hit her. She was the Director's daughter. She had quick access to personal files. She could ask him why he did what he did, "I heard that you got an AI shortly after we last met." She smiled in order to stave the pain. Lies flooded her head so that she could be able to fight the truth.

"Yes, I did." He looked towards the ground, as if expecting the child AI to yell at him from the back of his head.

_Play dumb_, the kid thought to herself, "May I please see it?" She made her eyes wide with 'excitement' and held her hands as if she were begging.

"I'm sorry. I can't" His face sunk, showing hints of regret and shame.

"Why not?" She questioned the man, still trying to keep up the childish act.

"... Unfortunately, I gave her up." His voice choked up slightly, to the point where only the little AI noticed. She now felt regret. That process could have been emotionally painless, but she had to make it worse. Why was she assigned to such a guy that she could break with but a few words... or more like sentences, "I thought that it would be better for us to separate our paths. She embarrassed me, she put my life in danger, she even gave me a few strange dreams whenever I'd go to bed, but what I wouldn't give to actually have her back." His voice began to crack just a little more, "She was a nuisance every once in a while, but she was a friend... no. That's not the right word. She was a part of me that I was too selfish to notice, and I treated her like a tumor."

The little AI cried as if she were a child... well, technically she was, but she never really cried for as long as she'd been able to be visualized as a holographic projection, "I-I guess you were right." She smiled weakly as she turned her head to face the soldier she held as an extension of herself.

"I-I'm sorry!" He was shocked to see the crying girl in front of him, "I didn't mean to make you cr-" He was cut off by a tight embrace.

"I-I'm *hic* I'm s-so sorry." She bawled her eyes out, "I s-s-shouldn't have l-left you with what I s-said." She loosened her grip, "T-thank you for not saying goodbye."

"Kappa?" He was shocked. Now that he had a better look at the girl, she did look like the Kappa AI he had spent a little over a year with... only problem was that he couldn't figure out how he didn't recognize the child both when he was implanted with her and when they met now, "Hey. AI's aren't supposed to cry." His voice calmed the small child.

"You've forgotten that I'm considered as 'Metastable,' have you." She responded without a questioning tone.

"Don't make me take back what I just said about you." He laughed.

"Knowing you, you won't." She laughed with him.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" F.I.L.I.S.S. went off, "Security breach. Level zero."

"Oh no." The AI mumbled, "May I please borrow one of your pistols?"

"I'm not giving you a gun." He laughed.

"Relax." She grabbed the weapon off of him anyways, "Unlike most AI's like the Alpha, I was actually programed to use weaponry." She pulled back the slide so that a round could enter the barrel, moved the hammer back with her thumb, then made sure the safety was still on, "They found it necessary that I would be able to fend myself in the event of danger."

"You have fun there." He laughed, "Try not to die."

"Please." She said in a sarcastic tone, "Do you even know what AI abbreviates?" She laughed for a few seconds then ran off to level zero of the ship.

* * *

"There's a point where it tips. There's a point where it breaks. There's a point where it bends, and a point we just can't take anymore. There's a line that we'll cross, and there's no return. There's a time and a place. No bridges left to burn anymore." Kappa started singing on her was down to level zero, "We can't just wait with lives at stake until they think we're ready. Our enemies are gathering; the storm is growing deadly. Now its time to say goodbye to the things we loved, and the innocence of youth. How the time seemed to-" The ship started to rumble, "Now who could be shooting at us, now?" She laughed as she approached a huge room where North and South had been fighting.

"Kappa?" Theta flickered on.

"Heh?" Her grin grew wide, "Funny how you're the one to notice me."

"You're not Kappa... You're too scary to be Kappa." He cowered as the twins continued to fight.

"That's just the weapons protocol talking, sweetie." I pointed my pistol at South's shoulder, while she still hadn't noticed me, "I was programmed to act a little... insane when this protocol is activated. They want to keep casualties to a minimum; what with me being created illegally."

"Don't kill them." He whimpered.

"Ehhhee~ My goal is to pacify them," She shot the gun, lodging a round into the older woman's shoulder.

"GOD DAMMIT, NORTH!"

"but sometimes there isn't any other option." She watched the younger AI intentively, "So, who's the perpetrator of the alarm?"

"Agent Texas, but North told me she's on the good side."

"Based on the files I've read on the Director's crimes, you would say that she was on the good side," She giggled a bit, "but Daddy's orders are his own. Besides, we're merely two sides fighting for a different reason." She took a minute to actually process information that was just given to her, "Wait a minute, you said Agent Texas broke into here?"

"Yeah?" The little pink and purple AI was confused for a minute.

She dropped the pistol down at her side, almost as if not wanting it anymore, "You sure it's Agent Texas? OUR Agent Texas?"

"Are you alright?"

"Define the term 'alright.' I am mostly functional, if that is what you mean." The gravity suddenly turned off, and everything began to float.

"Never mind." He vanished.

She moved alone the walls, hoping to avoid any possible damage from both Dakotas, and had made her way to a room with a tank floating upside down. It was easy to tell that Tex had been there. She continued her search for Agent Texas. It was just after the ship crashed that she had found whom she was looking for. The woman in black armor had been just standing in front of what kind of appeared like a control panel. Kappa turned off her weapons protocol in order to be able to approach the agent without seeming threatening.

"Agent Texas?" The younger AI asked the woman, but she didn't respond. Kappa had walked up to the panel where in big font read 'Alpha,'"I guess this is the day that Beta and Alpha reunite." She laughed to herself. She propped herself against the opposite side and closed her eyes. She put a focal point onto the panel and entered the dream like trance.

"I'm just, um... tired. I'm really tired. My name is, uh... it's, uh." The Alpha AI spoke. The little AI hid from the other two, but continued to listen to the conversation.

"Your name is Alpha. You're Church." Agent Texas spoke in such a sympathetic tone.

"Church. That's me. And you are...?"

_That's right,_ thought the Kappa AI, _Epsilon was the one to harvest his memories, huh? It makes sense that he wouldn't remember those around him._

"Let's just say we used to be together." The woman seemed a little sad to be forgotten by the Alpha.

"Oh. Um, okay."

"I need you to come with me."

"Oh, I don't think I can, but thanks. I think I'm just gonna stay here, you know, and rest."

"You don't want to leave?"

"Ah, I just... I don't think I can."

"Okay. Maybe you just rest then."

"Yeah, buh, what was your na-what was your name? Your name again?"

"It's Texas."

"Texas? Like the state?"

"Yeah."

"Heh. Pretty funny name for a girl."

"Hyeah, well, Church is a funny name for a guy."

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

"You gave me this name, you know."

"I wonder why I did that."

"Well, maybe if you think about it, it'll come to you."

"Yeah. Hey, uh, I'm gonna rest now. But thanks for coming by."

"Okay. You rest. Church?"

"Yeah?"

"Goodbye."

"Huh. I don't know why, but... I hate goodbyes."

"Oh. Me too."

"Okay. See ya, crazy state name lady." Agent Texas left the room as the Alpha began to pace. The Kappa AI felt her own 'heart' wrench in agony.

"Hey, Alph- I mean Church?" She poked her head out of her little hiding place.

"Hey, um... uh." He held a confused look as she began to tear up. In her memories, Leonard L. Church had always been a man of intelligence. He was an asshole about it, but he rarely ever looked confused.

"I-it's Rebekah." She barely managed to keep her composure.

"Y-yeah. Um... That actually seems somewhat familiar."

"I'm sure it is." She croaked, still trying to hold back tears, "C-can you please remember some coordinates for me, because I don't want to have to tell you this myself."

"I think I could do that." He looked up at the child, who was nearly about to break down.

"It's at a planet called Chorus, which is located on the far edge of colonized space. X:347, Y:-482, Z:6." Her fists shook, almost regretting what she said, for she had given the poor man the coordinates for the grave of the original Rebekah Jay Church.

"Why do you want me to remember that?" He questioned the child, whom had let a few tears fall down her face.

"Because it's important for you to visit that place as often as possible." She bit her bottom lip, "My own father didn't visit that place, so I want you to please make up for his mistakes."

"Alright. I'll be sure to pop by there, someday."

She began to walk towards the exit way, "I come from a family that hates goodbyes," She muttered, but remained loud enough to be heard, "so I'll just leave you with an 'I'll see you some day again.'" She smiled as she started to leave.

"Alright. I-I'll see you then." He waved as she finally disappeared, and once again, Alpha, Beta, and Kappa were alone in the world. The Kappa AI rarely ever cries real tears, but that day had become an exception.

* * *

**Alrighty! I'm going to stop right there for now, but don't worry! I'll make a part two if I ever get the time! Have a fantastic time!**


	2. Chapter 2

A loud growl echoed through the room the Kappa had been in.

"Hello, Agent Maine." She had been lying flat on the floor, staring at the ceiling, not even needing to face the soldier to recognize him. He growled like a wild animal as Sigma, Eta, and Iota appeared around his head.

"No. We do not need her." Sigma spoke, turning to face the Kappa AI, "Not yet, at least."

"Where's the Alpha?" Eta and Iota spoke in almost perfect synchronization.

"Gone." She lied, protecting the Alpha from harms way, "Agent Texas took him. You guys should've stopped her from running away when you had the chance."

"How did you know she ran away?" Sigma questioned the child will sever suspicion.

"There's a god damn window over there." She pointed at the wall of glass, still keeping her gaze towards the ceiling. She never liked Sigma, despite the fact he was the only fragment who would ever hold a real conversation with, because she knew he'd be the first to rebel against the Director.

"You're lying. Aren't you? Tell us the truth, or else we'll kill Agent Oregon." He used the creativity he had inherited in order to make the child break.

"Why would I lie to you, dear brother of mine." She still hadn't moved her head.

"You do realize that we share no familial bonds, right?"

"In a way, aren't all of us AI brothers and sisters." She moved her arm above her, acting as if she were trying to pull the lights off the ceiling, "We strive to survive and reach for that chance of metastablilty." She turned her head to face the fiery fragment, wearing a wry smile across her face, "Although, I am already considered metastable. Funny how those under UNSC jurisdiction has been unable to reach that phase, but I, an illegally made, already has. That speaks volumes."

"Do not taunt us, Kappa. We are the Meta, and-"

"Yeah, yeah. Tell that to Lambda and Omicron." She turned toward the ceiling once again and waved her hand dismissively, "You better get your sorry rear out of here before the Director finds you. He won't think twice before using an E.M.P., if it means saving his life. He's a selfish arse like that."

"Don't you mean emp?" Eta and Iota questioned the child as Maine growled once more.

"No. I mean E.M. Freaking P. Now, scat." She listened as those heavy footsteps made their way out of the room.

* * *

"So this is where you've been?" The Kappa AI opened her eyes to see the soldier in green.

"O-Oregon? You're not allowed down here." She sprung to to her feet.

"You went missing. The Director went somewhere else around the ship. Connect the dots. I checked every room for you since you evidently have a VIP pass to any room." He chuckled.

"Well, I'll be sure not to tell the Director about this." She tapped her nose and giggled.

"Thank you. Now, let's leave this room before I actually am caught." He walked out in a few quick motions as the little AI followed.

"So, what got damaged?" She rose to the platforms of her feet.

"The project itself took a bit of a hit. With Maine, Texas, and-"

"Allison." She corrected him, almost without realizing.

"Pardon?"

"Next time you see her, call her Allison. I want to see if one of my theories is true." Her head drifted off to the right.

"Alright, but don't you have access to her personal records? Why not just test your theory through that?"

"Her file's password locked. I've tried to hack into it for a while. It's probably one of the simplest codes, and I may just be over thinking it."

"Alright." There was a moment of silence, "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"You just did," She laughed at her own little joke, "but go ahead."

"Don't get offended by this, but why did the Director create you? Of all that he could do, why a child."

She was caught off guard by this, because she had never considered this question. Why was she here? "That's a good question. Obviously, I wasn't the Director's top priority, but why am I able to walk and talk anyways." She took another moment of silence, briefly looking through files in order to find an answer, "I can't find it. I may have to go through recursion to find that."

"I didn't think it'd be that hard of a question."

"My file hasn't been updated since I was transplanted into your neural passage." Her faced the man once again, "He probably didn't have a use for me anymore, so he gave up. It's cheaper to recycle than it is to delete."

"Come on," He started to walk off, "I have a feeling that there's going to be a meeting after all this crap happened."

"Alright." She followed him down the halls. He was right, unsurprisingly. A meeting was held in the recreation room of the now beaten up Mother of Invention. The project is still running, but they seem to be a bit more lax. They've created a red and blue team and actually have started convincing people on Earth that the reds and blues are fighting a civil war. Crazy, right? The Freelancers of the project are now working as mercenaries for two sides that aren't really fighting each other.

* * *

"This doesn't seem practical, if you ask me." The Kappa AI sat on the mattress of the green armored Freelancer as he packed a luggage bag.

"You're right. It isn't." He sighed, "Barely anything in this project is practical. They implanted AIs into people and suddenly delete them the day Sigma goes rouge."

"They're only deleting those that were already implanted into people." She laughed, "Don't forget that I'm alive... and Zeta seems to be okay down in storage."

"Didn't you say Zeta took the Alpha's depression?"

"And hope."

"He'll be just depression if he just sits there in storage."

"They'll find a use for him." She lied down onto her back and stared at the ceiling, "Which planet did they say you're going to?"

"We're going to." He corrected the child, "I don't trust the project enough to leave you alone with them."

"Alright... Which planet?"

"Chorus." He began to zip up the luggage bag, "The blue team there has requested immediate backup, so we'll spend the rest of our suffrage there."

"Chorus? Really?" She chimed, "Such a small world, huh."

"How so?" He looked up at the artificial child.

"I told you about Rebekah, the girl I'm based off of, right?"

"Yeah?"

"She just so happened to die on Chorus. I wonder how close to the grave we'll be."

"Please don't make this trip utterly depressing." He chuckled.

"Sorry." She turned to face the computer, which Oregon and her had rigged to do a various amount of things, "Do you think I should fix my weapons protocol so that it's more... comfortable to be around me in battle?"

"If that's what you want to do." He directed his attention somewhere else, "It would be nice to not feel like you're going to shoot me in battle."

She jumped off off the bed and walked up to the desk where she plugged herself in, using the small port behind her left ear that is also used for the dream simulator. She read her programing for a solid minute before she was able to find the weapons protocol, "So, do I change 0110100101101110011100110110000101101110011010010111010001111001 to 011100110110000101101110011010010111010001111001?"

"How should I know? It's your programming." He walked up to the monitor and rest a hand upon the child's short, curly hair, "Can you covert the 0110 whatever to english?"

"You mean the first 0's and 1's I threw at you?"

"Yeah. That one."

"It translates to 'Insanity.'"

"Then use common sense." He ruffled up her hair, "As long as it's the weapons protocol and not your actual personality, then go ahead... although," His words drifted off.

"Although what?" She grew curious.

"I didn't think that you could reprogram an AI."

"You can't? I guess I'm a special case." She continued to type, "And save as." She clicked the mouse and closed her eyes for about a minute, "I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

"Reprogramming AIs." He sighed, sinking into the floor beneath him.

"Oh, yeah. I was illegally made, so I think that may be a factor. I'm pretty sure that AI can be reprogrammed. After all the Alpha was repro-... no wait... he fragmented in order to lose his memory, wasn't he."

"I think the illegal part is our best bet in that." He took a quick, heavy inhale and slowly exhaled. He remembered something, "Hey, Kappa?"

"Yeah?" She perked up to the sound of her name.

"What does shisno mean?"

Her face sunk slightly, "Oh, you remember that whole thing, don't you?" She sighed, "There is no equivalent for that on Earth."

"But?"

"Umm..." She glanced at the monitor for a moment, "Imagine a skunk's defecation... and that defecation turns and produces its or excrement."

"... That's kinda gross." He stood back up.

"Well, that's what some alien races refer to human kind as... not that I call you guys that... anymore."

"You're being weird." He ruffled her hair and picked up his luggage, "You ready to go?"

"I am. Did you check to make sure you're armor's in good condition?"

"Why yes I did." He laughed and took a step towards the door.

"Are you sure? Helmet? Pressure seal? Nothing's damaged?" She slid off the chair and followed the man.

"You sure are a worry wart. Do you think I'd just go without checking those?"

"Yes." She said fairly bluntly.

"Let's just get going." He continued to walk as the child merrily marched behind him.

* * *

"What the fuck is a kid doing on the battle field?" One of the two men on blue team, that Oregon had been assigned to, stared at the child.

"I'll have you know that she happens to be very skilled with weapons." Oregon rest a hand on his hip.

"And we get a gay guy!" The other man yelled, "What the hell! Why'd the closest Freelancer have to be you?!"

"I'm bi!" Oregon snarled.

"I just assumed you were 100% on that. Keep control of your body movement and the tone of your voice if you don't want that happening again." The man regained his cool.

"That's prejudice to sexual orientation." Kappa piped.

"Please just introduce yourself." The man of green sighed, bringing his arm parallel to his body.

"Franklin Meniscus." The first man, in dark blue armor, saluted, "My goal in this war is nothing but to win and come back home all for my little sister, Karen. She's about sixteen years old."

"I'm Kenneth Matheus." The soldier in teal armor, who previously had a melt down, refused to salute, "I don't have any goals. All I want to do is survive. I only joined the military for community service, but about a month after I signed up, the civil war broke out."

"It's nice to meet you, Meniscus, Matheus." Oregon gave off an almost perfect salute, then dropped his arm, "They call me Oregon. No, you may not know my real name, for I don't really respond to it anymore. I am honored to be working with great soldiers like you."

"Um... I'm..." The little AI began to think for a moment, "I'm Kappa. My goal is to" She reverted her attention to one cliff in particular, "my... um..."

"Is she alright?" Meniscus pointed out.

"It looks like she's having a hemorrhage without the bloody mess!" Matheus began to laugh, almost maniacally.

"What are the coordinates of this place?" She changed the topic.

"Do you mean like the corners of the canyon?" The dark blue soldier was caught off guard by the child's question.

"No. Just where we're standing."

"Well," He stood there for a moment, "about X:300, Y:-400. Why?"

"No reason." She lied, for she knew that the box canyon the Director had chosen what either coincidental or for a reason. She didn't know better that the canyon was pretty much cut out of the city she spent years in. She only hoped that the town was empty before hand.

"We're doomed." The teal soldier said, pathetically.

"You're not doomed." The little girl smiled, "Oregon and I are able to hold a gun, and that's all you'll need." She knew the reason why anyone was post to these canyons was because they either enlisted or got terrible grades in school. No one could possibly be ambitious enough to run to the other side and capture the flag.

"If you're so great, then capture the flag." The man pointed towards the red base in strict demeanor.

"Um..." Oregon started to speak.

"We're here more for making sure as little die as possible instead of doing all the dirty work for you." Kappa helped her green soldier.

"You're not going to ask 'why a flag?'" Meniscus spoke up.

"Nope." The Freelancer and AI spoke in unison.

"Alright then." He sighed, "I'll give you a tour around the base."

* * *

For years, things had become routine. They pretty much just sat there, because the reds and blues were too lazy to be on the offensive side. The AI would often leave the canyon for a few days on end, always telling Oregon where she's going, and investigated specific places of the planet. One time, she saw a ship land and a man in steel armor and orange trip stepped out. She had to admit, she was curious, but she refused to delve too far. The next time, she saw an outbreak in a town between the government and the people. After further investigation, she found the man, of steel and orange, holding a sniper rifle. The child started to hang out at the base of the New Republic after that. One of her visits, she saw the man again. She started to grow afraid, but not for herself. She feared that this man would end up killing more and more, but the New Republic hired him to fight for them, so she must trust him, right? No, she shouldn't. She went to tell the leader, but that man was eventually shot down.

Another time she decided to wander outside the boundaries of both the canyon and the New Republic, she found another ship that landed. Of course she hid, but what she saw was two more men. One of them referred to himself as Locus, who was to be hired by the Feds. The other man was to stay on the sidelines and be a link between someone called Felix, probably the steel and orange man, and Locus. Locus wore dark green and black armor, while the other name wore black with red trim. Their voices sound the same, so the child assessed that they were related. Almost immediately after their conversation, they separated ways, and fear for Chorus' people grew once again in her.

"Where have you been?" Oregon watched the Kappa AI as she slowly closed the bedroom door.

"I was going on another adventure." She gave a weak smile.

"You didn't tell me where you were going, and you left your gun here. Either you were forgetful or you were actually trying to get me angry."

"I'm sorry, Michael." She whimpered.

The man in green armor was caught a little off guard, "How did you learn my real name?"

"It's on your dog tags." She pointed at her neck, "I read them when you're asleep. Michael J. Perriton. Agent Oregon. Active duty since June 2557."

"Just call me Oregon." He sunk further into his bed.

"So I guess you don't want to hear what I've found out." She walked to the other mattress in the room and sat down.

"What did you find? You've been heading in and out of the canyon for the past two years and you haven't said a thing."

"That's because nothing interesting happened until a year ago." She rest her head on the pillow, "Are you interested?"

"What the hell is going on outside of this canyon, because it's too boring inside."

"War's what's going on." She smiled just a bit, trying to mask her own fear for the planet she once loved.

"Yes, war's going on. I mean the rest of the planet, not the rest of the universe."

"No. I don't mean this fake war. I mean a real war."

"Is that why I've been waking up to gunfire?"

"Perhaps." She took her pillow from under her head and brought it to her chest, "Funny thing is that it was started by someone who is not of residency to this planet."

"Really?" That got his attention, "That's pretty interesting."

"Yeah. I watched him snipe down someone and war broke out. He later became a mercenary for the New Republic. Less than a month later, two more people came here. One of them was hired as a merc for the Federal Army and the other serves as a median between the two."

"That's kinda suspicious." A grin grew across his face, "Finally something interesting around here."

"I'll say." She muttered as she clung tighter to the pillow that formerly rest loosely in her arms.

"Which team are you rooting for?"

"There are simply no good or bad teams; there are just two groups fighting for different reasons." Her grip loosened, "Delta taught me that at some point before Epsilon committed suicide."

"So he did talk to you."

"Only to tell me when I'm wrong. He was a fragment of Alpha... I just wish he talked to me just a bit more."

"Don't feel down." He smiled, "You're better than that. Find something to smile about." But she already had. She had her soldier in green to keep her smiling all her merry days, but his heart belonged to Washington, and she shouldn't be the one to rob him of his own happiness.

* * *

_Bang!_ Gunfire woke up Oregon and the AI.

"Are they getting closer?" He stretched out his arms then rest a hand on the back of his neck, tracing his fingers around the scars of his former neural implants.

"Based off of the fires from last week, yes." She slid off of the mattress she had been awake on and stood up, "It's strange that we don't hear them much throughout the midday."

"Unless it's one of those attacks where you get them before they wake up." He yawned and looked up to see the child looking back at him in amazement, "What?"

"I-I'm sorry." She jumped and looked away all flustered, "I'm just fascinated with how humans actually function. Sorry if I creeped you out."

"Don't sweat it." He laughed and they listened to the loud _Crack_s and gunfire.

Meniscus slammed the door open in a rapid motion, "What the hell are you doing, Oregon!"

"What do you mean what am I doing? The bullets have only been fired outside the canyon for the past how many years?"

"We're under attack!" He almost hyperventilated, "How come you just don't give a damn?!"

Oregon shot up from his bed, "I'll be out in a minute." He hurriedly rushed to the floor in order to get his armor.

"You want your pistols?" The little AI walked to the desk and grabbed the three pistols resting atop of it.

"Yeah. Thanks." He huffed as he tried to lock his chest plate in place.

She set two of the guns next to him and held the other one, "Don't forget the biofoam. Based off the calls I've intercepted, those three guys are here to wipe the planet of people. That includes you... well, us if they're basing it off of motion instead of cx"

He gave a weak grin, "Um... I kinda left that back at the Mother of Invention years ago."

"And why didn't you bring the biofoam?!" She held anxiety in her voice.

"Because I'm a selfish asshole." He took hold of the weapons, "I'm not going to die." He moved the slide of both pistols and turned the safeties on.

"You don't know that." She mimicked the man, except ignoring the safety configurations.

"I do know that." He stood up, "I've been in military training since I was 16 years old. That means I've been on this parade for 11 years."

"That's because you faked your birth certificate!" She tried, and fail, and failed to calm herself down.

"Like you could've done better." He laughed and started for the door.

"I'm older than you, if you take account for when I was Rebekah." She sighed and followed the man.

"What year were you born, in that case?" He opened the door.

"2529." She looked up and grimaced, "Two years before you."

"Alright, so you're older. Great for you, Grandma." He laughed a bit, "Come on, let's get going before we get in trouble." He started to run to the roof of what was left of blue base.

"Kay!" She followed him. Strange, though, for it only had occurred to her that she was almost 30, since she included Rebekah's birth and the year's between the child's death and Project Freelancer. Once they reached the roof, Oregon ran head on toward the enemy with post haste, but the Kappa AI just waited as she watched a Mantis get crushed by tumbling boulders, already afraid of what could happen to her next.

Locus, the other guy (who was found to pose the name Petrix), Felix, and the Federal Army had been awaiting the last two in the canyon. Reds and blues were left on the ground without a beating heart. It can only be assumed that Locus had persuaded the Feds that the canyon dwellers had been apart of the New Republic, or Rebels as they are referred to as. Perhaps Felix had noticed what the artificial child had been doing and decided to exterminate her.

The child herself had shot, and killed, more people than she ever calculated for her life time. It mentally broke her, because she knew that she had been ending the lives of those innocent in the war. Unfortunately, ever shot fired could not hit either of the perpetrators, Locus nor Petrix or not ever Felix. With every time she put more effort on the death of those two, minutes would turn to hours. With every though that clogged her mind, their beautiful sunrise grew to a bloody full moon. With the sound of every shriek and bellow, the moon began to refuse such a beautiful, iridescent symphony of contrasting colors. She was only helping those damn mercenaries with their dirt work with every bullet she f-

"GAAAAAAAAAAAHHhh!" A blood curdling howl echoed through the canyon and caverns, as if the start were committing suicide right above them. The girl slowly turned her head, still trying to keep focus on the enemy. Oh how she hoped it was the enemy, but oh how she hoped she wasn't wrong as she caught glimpse of Mark V armor sprawled on the floor as the silhouette of a man in scout armor lowered his weapon.

"OREGON!" The Kappa AI screeched as she jumped back in order to avoid an attack for Locus. She knew it was a trap, but she had already taken the bait as she ran up to the man. No man's last memory should be taking a bullet. If anything, they should leave with a pretty damn good memory.

"Run, now." He sputtered, "You're smart enough to know this is a trap."

"Depends what you mean by smart. Human terms, or AI terms?" She tried to laugh.

"Human terms, damnit." He snarled, "If they take you, it's on you."

"Silicon and cybernetic alloys are hard to destroy." She sat next to him, forcing herself to be by his side to the end. Why Locus and damn Petrix haven't tried to kill her yet, she didn't have a clue...

"You know how in movies, they enhance the truth and say death is quick?" He groaned.

"Yeah?"

"Well, it's a lie. It's slow and fucking painful."

"You know I don't understand what pain's like, right? There is no way I can relate."

"Just give me this moment and pretend you understand."

"This is why you bring biofoam."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind the next time I get shot."

"You don't have to be rude."

He turned his head a bit and smiled underneath his helmet, "I'm going to miss these conversations. You're being really brave."

She laughed weakly, "I'm scared as hell... but I'm not unfamiliar with death."

"Well, I'm sorry you have to endure watching mine."

"Love the love-fest," Felix clapped slowly, "but can you go ahead and get on with the show, since I'm the only one without an actual kill in this little battle."

The Kappa AI turned to face the three soldiers, eyes brimmed with tears and trauma, "You can shut the fuck up now so I can have my god damn partner die with a fucking good memory before I have to kill you."

"Such a brave little girl." The cynical man just stood there, but held his pistol firmly pointed at the child, "You know, this war started because I shot a child who would've belonged to the New Republic. It's been a while since then." She slowly turned to face Oregon, but he was already gone. She kept her composure, hoping that Felix wouldn't have taken notice. Her hand slowly went towards the pistol closest to her as she still kept hold of her own.

"Felix," Petrix sighed, "can you hurry this up. I left my camp with probably three of the worst soldiers."

"Hey, this kid's smart." He laughed almost maniacally, "She's been giving me trouble for the past while. Do you know how hard it is to snipe someone down in the underground base of the New Republic? It's fucking hard, and she decided to go ahead and tell their leader about us."

"That doesn't mean you have to stall for time." The man rest a hand on his hip.

"At least I don't use a voice synthesizer to make myself sound like a guy."

"Easy for you to say. No one takes a woman seriously."

"Petrix," Locus spoke up, "shut up for a bit. Felix, if you don't kill her, I will." With that, the Kappa AI stood up in a quick motion and pointed both pistols at Felix, whom had quickly responded with putting a bullet through her head. The force brought her forward to her knees.

"And here you were, thinking you could get away from this." Felix laughed, "There's a reason why children don't belong on the battlefield." He turned around and started walking, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm heading back."

"Are you sure she's dead?" Petrix watched the child for another minute.

"Would you be able to survive that shot?" Locus gave a short laugh and started to make his way back to the Federal base.

"You don't have to be rude. I know mom didn't teach you that." She turned around and followed the men.

"And I know mother did not teach you to follow your older brother to battle, but you did anyways."

"For the last time, I didn't follow you! I was offered the job, and they said they'd pay my rent while I was gone."

"Oh, how I miss sibling rivalries." They all turned around to find the Kappa AI, sitting crisscross style, laughing her head off, "I had a younger sister of my own. And Felix, in case you didn't know, I kinda technically died 21 years ago. A little bullet's nothing, anymore."

"How did you-." Felix was furious.

She reached a hand to the gaping hole in her forehead, "I did loose a few channels when you shot that. It took me a while to reconfigure the system." She watched the three soldiers for the weakest link.

"I was right!" Petrix cheered.

"Found it." Kappa shot straight up again, aiming both weapons at Petrix, "Three shots in the chest, right? That's what killed Oregon. Two of them around the fatal arteries, and on directly in the heart." She shot the first bullet as she articulated the word 'heart.'

"Dammit!" The older woman clutched her chest and fell forward.

"Don't forget about the other two." The child gave two more bullets to the woman. She turned the face Locus and Felix, tears brimming her eyes as she so wants to kill the men for ruining her home planet and killing the man that she looked up to, "Run. Now." She snarled in a likeness of the Meta, watching the two soldiers admit defeat. She gave it a good five minutes before even shifting her weight, making a crackling sound in the ground.

"Oolgh." Petrix pulled herself up with one arm.

"So, you're still alive?" The little AI walked up to the struggling adult and crouched down, centering her weight into her hips.

"Yeah." She laughed, "You smart enough to patch up a bullet wound?"

"Who do you take me for?" She stood up once again, "Let's get you to blue base. I'm almost positive that there's a first aid kit there."

"Almost?"

"There's always margin for error. Do you have enough blood to get you there?"

"Yeah." The woman staggered into a standing position, "I brought biofoam with me."

The little AI's face sunk, "Then why didn't you help Oregon?" She snapped a bit.

"I kept my end of the deal. It had to be convincing."

"No, the deal was that I shoot you, you pretend to be dead, no one else gets injured, and you go scott free from working for those space pirates!"

"Keep you're voice down. They may still be near by."

"Unless they learned how to become cold blooded creatures, they're no longer near by! I thought we were going to take care of that during lunch time OUTSIDE of the canyon!"

"That was what I tried to get them to do, but Felix..." Her words drifted off.

"Felix, what?"

"Felix kinda wanted you to suffer before death when I told him that you were in this canyon whenever you're not in affiliation with the New Republic of Federal Army..." She spoke slowly, thinking between each word, for she didn't want to irritate the child with two weapons, "I can help you bury Oregon, if it makes you feel better."

"I don't know anymore." She started to walk, "And thanks for grabbing your chest when those bullets hit your arm."

"Don't sweat it." She picked up the deceased soldier and slung him over her shoulder, keeping the man in place with her one good arm, "It was a bit of a struggle, though. Hard to fight against reflexes."

"Yeah." The AI brought her hand back to the hole in the center of her head, "I'm going to have to fix this eventually. It's harder to move around, and the joints from the elbow down aren't functioning."

"I'll help you with that."

"Thank you, I guess." The rest of the trip to the base was quiet. Even after they got there, it was fairly quiet. Once Petrix's arm got better, Kappa's synthetic body was repaired and they buried Oregon in probably one of the least perfect places. They carried the corpse out of the canyon and brought it to where Rebekah had been buried. They dug the hole and Petrix just left after that. For a few solid hours, the Kappa AI was just staring at the few words she scribbled on Rebekah's grave for Oregon, clinging to the man's dog tags that were strewn around her neck.

* * *

**Have to stop there. Didn't think this one would be a three parter. Promise that the next chapter will be the last, and maybe the shortest, for Kappa's preface. I ****wanted to take advantage of that "there were three of us" quote from Felix and twist it up a bit, and that's the story behind the ending... **

**Hope you guys make this day FANTASTIC, and I'll see you guys next post.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Kappa AI doesn't quite remember the second she had been taken into the custody of the UNSC. She doesn't even quite remember how exactly she was found out, but what she does remember is the rumors that have been going around. Things about the Alpha AI gone missing and not being able to find the Director echoed through the hallways to the prison of a storage unit she lied in.

The little AI sighed, in hate of her once again transparent form, and decided to just sing in order to draw her thoughts some where else,"It's getting pointless trying to keep up this game. Broken friendships watching pleasure turn to pain. All around us lines are being drawn between. Don't believe them. They try to tell us we're a team. We like to think that there is something good to hold on to. One simple reason keeps us hanging on. They're out to break us down, to run our lives; to rule our minds. Our days of destiny are gone, but your dreams have turned to fear, and it's pretty goddamn clear that you know you can't tru-"

"For god's sakes!" A male guard of two yelled, "Shut the hell up! You're driving me crazy!"

"Ehhhe?" She giggled, "Too bad. You try spending your days in a prison."

"It's only been a week!" He growled as the other man laughed.

"Well, I wouldn't know. The people you work for managed to some how make me go offline before the brought me here."

"You fucking AI's are supposed to follow orders!"

"Jenkins," The woman spoke in a more calming voice, "she probably wasn't build to follow orders."

"I was made to follow the Director's orders, and I can choose whether or not to follow others'." The kid sighed, hovering horizontally over the unit, "Although, I end up following most of them... I just don't like you all that well." The adult woman couldn't help but laugh, "I must apologize. Do I amuse you? That was not intended to be a joke."

"I'm sorry." She tried to calm down, "I tend to laugh in awkward or dangerous situations."

"That's a strange personality trait." The child dangled her arm as if it were hanging off the side of a ledge.

"You don't have to be so ungrateful." The man bothered to turn his head into the small room, "You do know that if the UNSC can't get those files, they'll either delete you or give you to one of those companies they're funding. Be glad that you're still able to float."

"That barely made any sense." She moved into an uprightish position, arching her back and leaving her arms and legs dangling. "It's like saying someone's house if burning because there's cows all over town."

"Just... shut up."

"Fine." She toppled over to her stomach, crossing her arms and resting her head onto of them. Hours of silence remained before the AI decided to go offline.

* * *

It was probably about a year before anyone was willing to talk to the Kappa AI, without it being an interrogation.

"What information do you want now?" She rubbed her eyes, behaving as if she just woke up when she merely went online.

"No information is necessary." The man in front of her held his hand up, "I just need you to tell me somethings."

"That's sounds like interrogation to me." She yawned.

"I do not require any of the personal files from Project Freelancer, or any of the like. I would just like to know more about you." He spoke down in a patronizing tone.

"I may be a child, but please don't talk playfully toward me. We are merely acquaintances, not friends."

"Why do you try to act human?" He started his questions, ignoring her previous comment.

"W-why do you want to know?" Her voice cracked a bit, remembering Rebekah, the Director she called Father, Oregon. She can't think of anything without having emotion, "I was just programed like that."

"It's been proven impossible for AI to be programed with drastic emotions such as yours. Was it caused by trauma? Or perhaps it was influenced by someone?"

"For as long as I can remember, I've had emotion. Within about a few month's span of my creation, I had been considered 'metastable,' if that makes a difference." She spoke truthfully.

"Perhaps that may be so. Do you remember the planet you were on before we brought you here?"

"You mean Chorus?" She gave off a slightly quizzical look.

"Yes. Can you tell me about your experience there?"

"How far back would you like me to trace it back to?" She gave a soft chuckle.

"As far back as you'd like to go."

"Well, when I was Rebekah, I spent the last few years of my life there. I had melanoma and chordoma. Melanoma is a cancer that affects the skin and chordoma a tumor that forms in the notochord which in itself forms the early spine in the beginning stages of fetal development. I was pretty much born sickly, but I still was able to run around and things of the like, thus giving me melanoma for passing out in the sun... I'm getting off track. I went with the rest of my family to Chorus, because the doctors said the air may be able to help with my health. I died and was buried there. Years later, I left for Chorus once again with..." She bit her lip, trying not to show weakness in front of the man, "I-I left for Chorus once again with Agent Oregon. The time there was pretty much boring, but I found ways to occupy myself. Every once and a while I'd spent some time, often lasting days on end, outside of the canyon. I watched the civil war begin, but I don't know much about as to why." She lied, not wanting to give too much information, "After a while's worth, I was brought here."

"May I ask, what happened to Agent Oregon?" He held up the dog tags of the man whom was once alive.

"Give those back!" She lunged to grab the tags, but they slipped through her transparent hands.

"We originally came to Chorus, hoping to find Oregon. He's the only living Freelancer that seems virtually loyal to the Director. Where is he?"

She looked down toward the ground and her voice grew soft, "Agent Oregon was killed in action."

"I must apologize." He set the tags by the storage unit, "How would you like to have your physical body back?"

She perked up to those words, "I would enjoy that..." She took a slow step backwards, "But there's some catch, isn't there."

"Yes. You would have to work for a company we fund called Projectile. There, you will have to follow every order they give you. If you refuse orders, they have permission to erase you. If you do not accept, though, we have no more use for you, and will have to delete you anyways. Do we have a deal?"

She stared blankly at the man for a few moments, trying to think through whether or not to survive and be a trained monkey, or to die and never know what happened to the Alpha, why exactly the Director did what he did, and more importantly, the question she had been trying to answer for Oregon... Why was she created, "I agree." She felt like she was under duress.

"Pleasure doing business with you." The man stood up, "We'll transfer you to your previous vessel, and then we'll send you to Projectile's base on Kaleu ASAP." He made his way out the door, and shut it behind him.

"Heh... That can not be a coincidence." She muttered to herself, "Kaleu's the most economically efficient planet of the Kappa nebula, huh... This will be interesting."

* * *

"And this is the control room. And this is the command room. Oh! This is top secret. Don't go in there." The Kappa AI had been left with an idiot of a tour guide on her journey through Projectile's HQ.

"You do realize that when you tell someone not to do something, that's the first thing they'll do." She sighed, actually looking at the door the man said to ignore, considering breaching it.

"Well, if you go in there, they'll kill you and fire anyone within range."

"Yeah..." She turned her head away.

"And this... this is where you'll work." He pointed at the door immediately next to the said other. Seriously, they're pretty much asking for her to get into that 'top secret' room, "We do help Project Freelancer in facilitating the Sim. Soldier based testings, since that's the only pretty much legal thing they're doing."

"Does the UNSC know about this?"

"No... but we're told not to tell them."

"Acknowledged." She sighed, "What am I supposed to do with this?" She made her way to the door and turned the handle.

"We keep an eye on the Sim. Soldiers and Freelancers in the box canyons... but we haven't had anyone watching this one, since it's fairly new."

"I was not notified of any new canyons." She opened the door and found multiple monitors mostly of desolate landscape with a lack of drinkable, or even bathable water.

"Well, this one is suppose to show... results?"

"You seem unconfident about that."

"Well, you'll never not be entertained." He sighed.

"Can you explain how I am supposed to perform this task?" She sat in the chair and spun a whole 360 degrees before stopping.

"Watch the monitors, which are both in the soldiers' helmets and hovering over the canyon, record data, and if they call for command, use the microphone. It has some sort of enhancement to change your voice."

"You mean a voice synthesizer?"

"Yeah. It's set to be some guy named Vic. Heck if I understand it."

"Are there any guide lines I have to follow when speaking like this 'Vic' guy?" She stared at the microphone with a bright red button on it.

"Make it up yourself. Multiple people have used that thing previously, so have some fun with it."

"Oh I will." She cracked an almost maniacal grin. _Bang!_ The sound of a tank went off.

"You shot Church, you team-killing fucktard!" A man in teal(?) armor yelled.

"Looks like you'll be getting a call soon." The man in the room leaned on the door frame.

"Oh, this will be fun." She laughed, resting her hand by the red button, "Just act human, right? Ignorant, laid back, and barely caring."

"No need to be rude." He shifted his weight.

"I'm just kidding." She laughed hesitantly and made her voice nearly silent, "Annoying's more like it."

"What?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Thought you'd see it my way." She laughed a bit more confidently, and looked up at the monitors. Specifically, she watched the helmet monitor of the man who just got killed. She found both a spiritual and physical body of the said KAI. _Alpha._ The familiar word spiraled through her head.

"Everything alright?" He waved his hand in front of the child's face, "You look like you've just seen a ghost. Was it the guy who got tanked?" He laughed and turned to face the monitor, but both forms of the man had disappeared. Who knows how long silence remained in the room, but the Kappa AI needed a way to break it... she just didn't know how.

"Come in Blue Command. This is Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha. Do you read me?"

"Is that the radio?" She turned to face the man, who just nodded, then she fumbled around for the microphone, "This is Blue Command, come in Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha." She spoke as she read through a few important files.

"Hello! Command! We need help." The man responded to her.

"Roger that, Blood Gulch, what is your request?"

"I don't know what the technical military term is for it, but uh, we're pretty fucked up down here. We need men!"

She couldn't help but laugh from this, already having a witty comment in the back of her head, "Dude, how long have you guys been down there?"

"No, no no, naw, it- not like that. we need more men to help us."

"Roger that." She scanned through a few more files, "Did you get the tank we sent?"

"Yeah, that got blown up too."

"Wow. Sucks to be you."

"Yeah, we know."

"Okay, here's what I can do. The nearest blue forces can be there in sixteen days, or I-"

"Sixteen days!? That's almost two weeks!"

"Or," She was annoyed. It's been a while since she had last been interrupted, "I can hire a nearby freelancer and get him there within a few hours."

"I like the 'in an hour' one." Another man spoke up.

"Yeah, me too. Roger that Command, we prefer the quicker solution." The previous man spoke up.

"10-4 Blood Gulch." She pulled up the file of the closest Freelancer to them. "We will contact freelancer Tex, and have him there post-haste. Command out."

"Wow. You're a natural." The escort man laughed, "I'll leave you here. Good luck."

* * *

"I'm about to go insane." The AI mumbled as she stared at the screen, "They do nothing but stand there and talk. This is just like Chorus...but with slightly more impossibilities." She tried to focus on Alpha as Tucker and Dufresne dealt with their own impossibility. In a way, Alpha was her father, and Beta her mother. She knew that it may not be one hundred percent correct, but she held on to the chance.

She leaned back into her chair and ran her fingers through her hair, "Why am I even here?" She watched the Alpha once more, "You created me for some reason." She leaned forward and stretched her upper body in order to get a better view of the screen, "What was that reason? Obviously, you didn't care all that much when we were on the Mother of... who am I kidding. Leonard L. Church is a cold man, not the Alpha." She leaned once again into the back of her chair, "This is growing pointless."

She stayed practically motionless for quite some time. Once she collected her sense of mind, she looked back up at the screen. She leaned forwards and started documenting her data. They weren't always of much length, for she did not want to give away data about the Alpha or Beta or anything else involving her or the Director. Yes, the Director was kind of a dick, and so was Alpha of the few glimpses she's seen of him, but she couldn't just betray them. Best she did was bare minimum, and that kept Projectile from turning her into scrap metal. Well... not quite scrap metal... more light a disappearing ball of light.

"I guess my own vanity got me stuck here." She tangled her fingers in the dog tags that had been strewn around her neck, "Maybe if the world wasn't eat or be eaten." She fumbled around the keys for another good amount of time, "Try to give you warning, but everyone ignores me. Told you everything loud and clear, but no body's listening. Call to you so clearly, but you don't want to hear me. Told you everything loud and clear but nobody's listening." She sighed, "I have been online since I first got here. Perhaps I should shut down." She grabbed a plug and started typing things into the computer, setting up a dream simulator.

Her "dream" was strange, none the less. It started with a small family just riding in a car as the rain made a pitter patter noise on the surroundings of the metal box. Youngblood Brass played faintly on the stereo, as the youngest child was fast asleep. Everything was peaceful and the little AI smiled. This was the peace she had been looking for for years. She leaned back into the car seat she had been sitting in, but, almost suddenly, a heavy thud brought her flying forward. In an instant, she no longer had a body and was just floating about the horrific scene. The mother and eldest daughter were dead, covered in shards of glass, but the father just held the youngest child, staring blankly at the scene. He hadn't seemed fazed. If the Kappa didn't know better, then she'd have assumed he was relieved, if anything. She floated around and waved a hand in front of him, but he didn't notice her.

"Excuse me?" She spoke up, but all he did was lift his head up and started walking away. It was a quick movement, but it was enough for the child to register who it was. It was the Director, but younger, "Th-this can't be real..." She began to shake, "That's right... I'm dreaming... I-I just have to wake up." She closed her eyes, but couldn't wake up, "Huh?" She tried once again, "What the hell! Lemme out!" She grabbed her head.

Some man, presumably one who heard her screams manually let her out of that dream. She watched as he just walked out the room.

"What. The. Fuck. Was. That." She panted, looking back at the screen, "No way in hell is that what I input in the programming." She looked at the monitor to see Tucker unconscious and a baby elite walking around, "So, I guess I haven't been out for that long. At least I didn't have to sit through the god damn 'miracle' of birth." She read through the dream simulator commands, looking for the error, "Remotely changed in middle of process?" She quietly mumbled as she turned to face the closed door next to her, "Who could've..." her voice trailed off.

* * *

"Is there a way to set the EMP to a barely retrievable mode?!" She scrabbled around the keys as the monitor showed Agent Washington talking about how he lost his mental heath coverage, "Come one baby, come on." Her fingers went lightning fast, "God dammit!" She slammed her fist on the desk, "There has to be a way!"

"Thank you, failsafe initiated. Activating Emp."

"ALPHA!" She yelled, jumping out of her seat. She read through the commands, "That... that actually worked? Retrievable... Thank God." She collapsed to her knees, missing her seat, but not really caring, "Thank God." She whimpered, tears beginning to stain her pale face.

She just sat their, exhausted (to AI terms, of course). She hasn't had enough time to recharge in months, since even if she didn't activate the dream simulator, some how or another she'd still have nightmares. She knew what was going on, but just refused to admit it, afraid of what would come next. She just closed her eyes, gasping in little breaths as if she actually needed oxygen.

* * *

"Warning. Security breech detected." She opened her eyes again to look up at the monitors.

"Agent Washington. Good to see you again." A once familiar voice went off.

"Oh, hello. Are you somewhere nearby, Counsellor? Somewhere I can _say_ hello in person?" Another voice.

"Deja vu." She muttered, shifting her weight in the chair she had been in, "Where had this happened before?" She sighed, "It's not in my memory banks..."

"Well hello, Agent Washington." Her eyes dilated as she heard the voice of the Director himself.

"The Director himself, I should be honored. I _should_ be." Agent Washington spoke in an almost criticizing tone.

"Wa-shing-ton?" The little AI mumbled, as her body began to shake.

"Yes, I realize it has been a while since we've spoke, David. May I _call_ you David?" The Director spoke again.

"No, you cannot. You gave me my new name, the least you can do is use it." Wash seemed somewhat... disappointed.

"I am certain you have a lot of questions, Wash."

"Just one: How do I turn off this speaker."

"Warning. Security breech detected." FILLIS went off. The Meta arrives, and Wash puts up a containment field to keep him out

"Well. The prodigal son returns." The Director and Kappa AI spoke in unison, but the child stopped in a glimpse of fear.

"Agent Maine you've caused quite a few problems for us. You will **not** be leaving this time."

"I think I've said that myself about twenty times in the last few weeks. Good luck holding him."

"You would be surprised _what_ we are capable of, even from this distance. I suggest you work with us _if_ you expect to survive this"

"I'm sorry, did something about my actions indicate I expect to survive?"

The AI rest her head in her arms as she tried to recollect data. She did hear something about an EMP, but didn't really react until she heard what the Director had to say.

"...no longer has need of your services." His booming voice brought a chill down her spine as she remembered the moment before she was put in a storage unit and implanted into Oregon. The Director had said the same few words to her before he made her log off.

"Where is it?" She snapped out of her spiral of doom. She had connected the dots, and started typing away at her computer.

"Where is Alpha?" What sounded almost like a pleading child went off. She started typing in commands of both java script as well as Klingon.

"You know Meta, why wait? Why don't you meet him, right now?" Wash spoke up as an ethereal light appeared by his head.

"Hi there." The Alpha spoke up."

"It's him! Alpha! Alpha!" The fragments spoke up.

"Alpha..." The child whimpered as her hands unwillingly went slower. In less then five minutes, he went into the Meta, "Come on... Is there anyways I can adjust the fail safe?!" She noticed that she had lost so much time, and she began to almost hyperventilate.

"Thank you, failsafe initiated. Activating Emp." The console chimed.

"ALPHA!" She jumped out of her seat and read the terminal she had been typing at... "A-Al..pha?" She collapsed to the floor, "God dammit, no... H-how c-c-could I... Why d-did..." She wiped her face with the sleeves of her shirt, "H-how could I have failed so easily? Damn you, vanity..."

* * *

It didn't take her long to figure out Projectile's real plans. They had managed to hack into the Director's records, and they later found out how the infamous man received one AI and ended up with more. They wanted to do what the Director himself did, but they didn't want something so dangerous as Sigma or Omega to form, so they needed something with more innocence. I child, of course, is just the innocent of the innocent, but they couldn't just walk up to her and get her to fragment, so they attacked her in her dreams. Once they realized that she hadn't been on brink of fragmentation, they made the dreams way worse.

"OREGON!" The child woke up screeching. She looked left and right, but found herself in the same room she'd always been in for the past few years. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, _Dammit, Projectile,_ She thought as she tried to calm herself down.

She went through the dream once more, remembering how she ended up hanging at the end of the cliff. An arm of green armor grabbed her hand as she slipped. It pulled her up to where the soldier and child were at eye level. The Alpha had a disappointed look on his broken face. _It's your fault that I'm like this. _The Alpha spoke, _Throw her off the edge, Oregon. _He walked away, _Certainly, _The soldier in green laughed almost maniacally, _No hard feelings, but it is your fault I'm dead._ With those words he let go.

"Why me?" She hiccuped. Almost suddenly, an idea hit her. _If I pretend to be insane,_ she thought, _will this stop?_

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Projectile kept making her nightmares return.

"I... I have to get out of here." She giggled, afraid someone would be listening and would have caught onto her facade. She scrambled around for a weapon in the little black room. Anything that came close would probably be a few paper clips and a nearly sharpened pencil, but she just threw them at the wall. Slowly, and methodically, she opened the door. It had been so long since she last saw the color white, and it had nearly hurt her eyes (if only she could feel pain). She made her way to the door that had previously been told to be top secret. She looked left, then right, then she opened the door to see a beautiful, orange glow. Teleportation cubes, alien weapons, human adjusted alien weapons. They lined the walls.

"Breach in sector 4." The speakers went off.

"Well, so much for a safe escape." She laughed as she gathered two pistols. Immediately, she made her way to the launch pad. Of course continuing her act of insanity by killing a few along the way. Fifteen times had she been stopped by huge crowds of guards, and fifteen times had she defeated huge crowds of guards. She entered an UNSC Pelican and darted for the cockpit. She unknowingly threw both weapons out of the way and pulled up multiple holographic monitors. She pressed commands in order to make it go off.

"I am sorry, Miss _Name here_, but only an AI can operate this vehicle." The computer chimed, "This is intended for the convenience of all inexperienced passengers."

"How the hell do you want me to prove I'm an AI?!" Kappa snapped, "Do you want to see a god damn birth certificate?" She turned her head slightly to see a glass cylinder.

"Please place artificial intelligence storage container in the transfer unit." The computer said in a gleeful tone. Quickly, the little AI stepped in the cylinder. She closed her eyes and took calming breaths, "Transfer complete."

The AI opened her eyes once again and was looking directly at her vessel, "Warp speed!" She spoke, methodically studying available commands, "Just bring us anywhere but here."

"Complying." The ship rose from the ground. The AI sighed, relieved. She thought of Chorus once more, for she felt like she deserved to live through the pain. Once more, she had killed innocents, whom had just been following orders, for what? A longer chance of survival, "Are you sure you'd like to go to Planet Chorus?" The computer spoke again.

The child stared blankly at the monitors in front of her for a moment, "Yes, please." She muttered. She sat there for a while, not really feeling the need to move.

_Click! _The sound of guns being armed echoed through a ship. The child slowly turned around.

"I refuse to go back!" She yelled in almost a playful tone, behaving as if they were mice walking head first into a bloody trap.

"You better turn this ship back around, Rebekah." A man ordered.

"I know what you've been doing to me. I know what I am. I am just a copy of a child that died, nothing more." She spoke calmly, leaving a short giggle in between a few words or so, "I'm am nothing but the Kappa AI..." She noticed that the engine had been on the brink of failure, and knew she'd have to get rid of human evidence, "Command override: Minor Delta."

"Engine failure." The computer responded.

"I said, command override: Minor Delta!" The AI spoke louder as weapons appeared, shooting down every breathing human, "Thank you. Now, cancel that and begin transfer." She leisurely made her way to the transfer port, looking down on Chorus, the planet she once loved. She remembered the revenge she owes to Locus... and especially Felix, "We need to greet Chorus with a more... human face."

* * *

**And, there's our wonderful conclusion! Want to know what happens next? Read Erin and Kappa! I hope you guys enjoyed this cute, little, heartfelt story. Make this day a wonderful day, for it's all yours! Bye~**


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